Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin has recently slammed the country’s opposition party Sinn Fein for their apparent reluctance to criticise Russia.
According to The Irish Times, the Fianna Fail leader said that Sinn Fein’s “international, European policy” worries him, branding the party “anti-European”.
“I was struck in the Dáil [the parliament] in the debate leading into the European Council, for example, they were absolutely silent on the massive Russian military build-up on the Ukraine [border],” he said as quoted by the newspaper. “I found that extraordinary. I’ve noticed this for the past number of years; Sinn Féin will never criticise Russia, always remain silent.”
He also accused Sinn Fein of being “in a very destructive, resolute opposition mode, opposing everything that moves literally, politically".
“The level and range of what they’re promising is in the billions at this stage, and doesn’t, frankly, add up,” Martin said. “A lot of their policies don’t add up, their housing policies don’t add up.”
As the newspaper points out, Martin delivered these remarks as several opinion polls show Sinn Fein “opening up a clear lead as the most popular party in Ireland.”
Although western officials and media have repeatedly claimed that Russia amassed a sizeable number of troops on Ukraine’s border in the possible preparation for an invasion, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said last month that they “do not see any danger from what is happening on our borders".
“If we’re talking about the kind of massed concentration insisted on by foreign media, we do not see anything like this,” he emphasised. “We are monitoring everything and are aware of everything that’s happening. Today we do not see a threat of naked aggression by Russia.”